Automatic towing and steering device



Aug. 20, 1940. H. H. RoDlN l 2,212,480

AUTOMATIC TOWING AND STEERING DEVICE Filed Aug. 9. 1939 /A/VEA/Tam ,oHARRY hf Hoo/1v 4 fron/Vey Patented Aug, 20, 1940 i y :aff-gf` 9.13

2f, 212,4s0 AUToMATIoToWmGAND STEERING y.. D'Ev1on l Harry n.'Roaiaoieveleiia ohio,v assignor of one-#half to AugustJeney,l Jr.,Cleveland,y Ohio Applioetion August 9, 1939',v yserial kNo. "fzssagzzzf.

` 4 claims.l (o1. 28o-33.55)

.-.This invention rela/testo automobile. towing devicesandxparlticularly to such links or .drawbarswhich are coupled withautomatic steering mechanism y attached to the car` being towed.

l 4Figure 16l is a side-elevation of the modified Figure '7 is across-sectional View of a connect-r4 ing `device taken along the linesl-l .of the Fig` 6! This invention is amodicatiori of the automatic ure1; i f '5f' towing and steering device referred to-in.. my Figure 8sayplan View taken along. the liIleS .co-pending applications Serial No.230',805,'1'ed v3 8 0f 'the Figure 7; t u September 20, 1938 forl aUniversal automatic Fiule9 lebe Side VeW 0f e pair 0f corrugatedhitch,and. Serial No. 289,221,- filed Augustv 9; Washer mentors; an y10i 1939 for an Automatic tow bar, Figure 10 is @1 s viewjtaken alongthe lines |0740 10'- The rimar object of the instant invention is oftheFigure to provldo a .dvioo of the typok mentioned which The instant invention .consists lbroadly of a isv self-aligning. and is itself free oftorsional draw-bar. meinteny a steering member,` Connecter stress, alsowhich will not distort or strain `the members for attaching the drew-bartothe ve-` 15T ,apparatusto which it is Connected; and which hicles intandem position'and a steering means 15' is nevertheless, compact, lightin Weight and COIlIleClug fthe ClYeW-baI` t0 'the Steereible freni?vtherefore easy to transport. Wheels of thelear' VehiCler Another objectis to provide a device which The v'draw-bar .member consists 0f rtwometalv may be quickly and easily installed or attached 'bare 01 beams22. and 23 linked together. With 2l to readily accessible par-ts of anautomobile, and horizontal Din 25 ai? about. its. mid-SSCOD- The 20which may be handled and -operatedlbyoneperforward beami 22 haspivotally connected to it by sonwho need not be particularly skilledl'inthe Ineens 01 the horizontal .Din 25m a Short 'metal use of Suchapp1ianoo5 -f section referred to and designated as the link .24,

. lA further object of the invention is to providev The Tear end- Of therear beam 23 and? the front 25 oneim towmar with an automatic steeringend of. the link 24 have integral therewith stout 25 mechanism whichengages the outside members Vertical tubular.. Sections. 2.1;. eachbored Se es on vafsteerable front wheel of the car being "towed,`r t0ferm Suitable lbearings `fOr the Vertical pivot and which is safe,fool-proof and secure in pins 26 and z tchf 'Iiirtw tirilila ectionisl21':

ra ion.. i l' s serve asgmoun s. or.l e a ac en ars W ic fpt 'anotherobject is to Croate a, 'device of will be 4hereinafter Adescribedindetail. The 30` the t e. mentioned whichk is made -of Standard pivotmeans formed at the pin 26 is also referred pantsynd fittings; iseconomical to manufacture, @O hlen .aS'theldrW-bal member iIStveXilOle.assemble' or re air; and which is more or less lomf o i universal inits) application; that is,-one which v A S this .del/10,6 ispajrtiularly adaptable for is easily adjustable or made 'suitable forengagetO-Wmg automablls hal/mg from 'and rear bump" 35 ment Vand usewith all currentstandard: makes fSfmountedp-n pulcatedbraclets-them 1.5pro" of 'automobiles v vided as shown-1n the drawing, a draw-bar Theseand other objects andfeatures of the mounting meanis" This draw-bar'mounting t. t means as described for attachment to therear 40vfmventlon Wm becqme ajpparent 'fr 01.11 a study .of vehicle, and whichis practically the same on the 40 v me .followmg descnptmn and* claimsmge'tper front Vehicle, consists of two sets of parallel bars Wlth theafmpanymg d fawne m 'Whih like radiating 'fromme' tubularseotiohzL-outwaruiy Parts are def'ilgnated 'by llke reference charac/'fand rearwardly toward the bracket arms 92. and

` @Wand Wkterem: I .4 83 which support the. bumper 20.

i5r .Flgufe 1 1S a man .VleW 0f th? automatl tow?. 'In the.drawing``there is shown the four metal 45" ing and steermgdevice connecting` twoa'utomo-v bars en 8L 80d; and ma of equal length and biles 1n tandem; feach is provided with. two equally spaced holes 'Ffgure 2 1 5 a' 51deVleW 0f thesa'me f v. near its ends. lThe left upper vbar 80 extends;

Flsure 3 1s a sectional new taken-elmethe fromthe vertical ipiri' 2s tothe lfork of the two; 50

lines 3-3 of fthe Figure v i bum-per'lbracket arms 82-and 83. Thebaril() Figure 4 iS an enlarged View Showing YBart 0f rests on the topofthe tubular section .21 and the. d IaW-fbal and Steering mechanism;rests on`the.top""edge ofthe bumper 2B so that its Figure 5 is asectional View ofa modified foiim rearward hole is ait about thejuncture of the M ofthe steering collar shown in the Figure 3 arms 82and `83. VvThe upper right bar 8I `similar lyf 55,

extends from the-pin 28 jto the right bumper bracket varms 82 and 83.The lower left and lower right bars 88a, and Sla are in line with thefront bars v88 and 8i vand similarly extend from thepin 26 to the leftand right bumper arms 82 and 83 excepting that they contact the bottomof the tubular section 2l and are carried below the bumper 28. The link211 is, through the tubularsection .hsimilarly connected to therearbumperbracket armsV 82a,l and 83aof the v'rear inthe same direction. l

- In connecting the beam 23 Yto the left front bumpeibracket members,the washer 86,5 hav*n ing its corrugation 88 vfacing upward, is placedover thetwo bracket arms 82 and 83 with itsltab 88 contacting theoutside surface of the bracket arm 82. The washer 88, having itscorrugation 89 facing downward'is meshed with the'washer 86 and has itstab 8l contactingA the'outside surface ci. the bracket arm 83. Y

A' machine bolt or pin 88 is then inserted in the holei of the bar 88,is projected Vthrough the two washers 85 and 88 and passedbetween thearms 82 and 83. Another set of corrugated washers, consisting of washers85a and 88a,

placed over the bolt Sil with their upwardly projecting tabs @la and88a. respectively engaging the bottom outside surfaces of the twoarms'82 and y83. Next, the lower rbar 88a is placed over the :pin andAall Vof the aforementioned arms, washers and Ibars are locked in place-with the pin 84, the nut 84a and` the l-ock washer 84h.

The assembled and thus attached ibars 88, 88a,

8| and Sla, form aV rigid and solid connection withfthe' front end ofthe frame of the rear` vei hicle' I9; f l

'i 'ma 'I'he steering memberconsists or"l a lslidable sec' tion, whichAfor convenience is referred to herein asa collar, :to which collar areattached two projecting arms and an adjustable length Vguide describedmore fully 'hereinafter'. v

The collar member which is slida-ble 4on the rear draw-bar beam 23consists of two channelled sections'. The bottomsection t0'somewhatjre-v sembles an upright U. It ts the bot-"tom half of the beam*"8 and has extending radially therearm and a steering arm, each ofwhich will' be from two rigidarnis l 'Ihe end of each ar-m il isdrilledso' as to have a vertical hole therein suitable for receivingoneY of -therclevis pins 3l. The hingel or pivot means formed at thepins 3| lis also referred to herein as the draw-bar member or collarmember second ilexible joint.

Directly above the bottom section 40 therel is a similar section i2which resembles an inverted U and similarly fits the top half of thebeam 23.,v

The top section i2 however, does not have any `arms-extending therefrom.v

The two sections 48 and 42y each have abuttingv horizontal flanges Mthat have suitable holesv for receiving bolts and nutsA for joiningthern'together. vWhen so 'assembled the sectionsfillv and d2 form acollar-like member which iits snugly, but vis still free enough to slidealong the beam 23 between lthe horizontal pin 'Z ,and the vertical pin28. The collar memberis madeislidab-le on the bar 28 to facilitate theproper attachment of the device to the towed vehicle and also to permitthe automatic .steering member to absorb longitudinal vibration or jerksof -theidraw-bar member: which are caused bysndden starting andstopping.`A`inere turning i 4'the 'draw-bar 23 itself during normal use does notcause the collarto slide thereon as is the case with many of the priorart devices.y

The guide arm is made in two sections. The

first or tubular section Si) is provided with a simple clevis 8l whichis linked, at one end, to

8d: integral Atherewithand the two sections 60 and 62A are made'rigidand are rmlyheld-tOgether with :the simpleilock-.nut 65. after certainadjust; ments; have- .been made.. g

The steeringpo-rtion consists of ka curved arm la, one end-of `.which-isdrilled vertically ,to re. ceive Athe pin 320i the clevis .8.43. i Theother end of theanm has ath'readedzcollar .l l which screws onto kthethreaded endaof the stubaxle/Etof the front wheel 35 of the rearvehiclelg.. The arm 'l'is bentslightly so that whenthecollar 1Iis..placed close..to,bu`t noty quite .touching'the wheely hub members,the clevisr pin. 32will ybe in the center line 'of the wheel tread.yAlso, the arm "It, isicurvedl downward vslightly sof thatnit clears thebumper 28. and is connected tothe arm lil in a manner which causesiit tobe substantially inhorizontal alignment with v'the bea-m,member 23 andthe frame of the cari .The iiexibleconnection formed by the clevis pin32. is sometimes` referred to `asthe third iiexible joint.

While .theldrawing does not. 'show the duplica-v tion of all parts infull, this device has neverther less two guidexarmsy and 4two steering,arms engaging the outer Vends of both frontv wheel axles A lightlymodiiiedgiormxof steeringxportion collar is shownywhichsimpliiiesattaching the device. yOrdinarily, when Vthe arm 1U; with vits 'collar'H is applied, the front wheel axle` 50 mustnecessarily have` to beraised.. up so as tofpermi-t` the end of the ,arm 'lto clearthefgroundwhile screwing itin place. f `To eliminate the necessity of jackingunthe two front wheels ofthe vehicle,

theco-llargmem-ber 'Ha of the'modiiiedform is.y

'portion 50a. vAlso the threaded bushing i2 is provided with suitablecircumferential flanges `'l5 which hold it' Vwithin "thecollar lla..'This Yis;

modified formfofattachingthe steering armfl' to the stub axle 58 isclearly illustrated inthe.

Figures 5 and 6.

The advantage of .this device. overothers ofthe art, lies rst, in thevfact that the draw-baris attached only to rigidjand substantial partsof the vehicle `iran-1e; .and secondly, in 4the .fact that the automaticsteering ci the rear car is eiec-ted by actuating both iront wheelssimultaneously in the same degree.

figures formed by the corner points representedv by the one vertical pin2S, the four clevis pins 3| and 3:2 and the two king-pinsll formseparate parallelograms; and that the figures retain their parallelogramcharacteristics regardless of the turn or deviation from thenormalposition'of the draw-bar beam 23. With this device, if the guidearms 60 and 62 are each adjusted, by either lengthening or shortening,so that their separate lengths are equal to the distance between points26 and 49, and if the draw-baris mounted adjacent the centers of the two.bumpers 20 and 2l, so as to bring the clevis pins 3| and 32 the samedistances apart that the vertical pin 26 is from the king-pins 49; thedistance between the pins 3| and 26 will automatically become the sameas the distance which exists between the king-pins 49 and the clevispins 32.

A further advantage of this 'device is that it is more satisfactory fortowing new cars from the factory to some distant dealer, because it doesnot'injure the mechanism or effect the polish or nish of the lnewvehicle as would otherwise occur if exposed Iparts of the vehicle werecontacted or v engaged.

Another advantage is that because of its light weight and. relativelycollapsible and nested parts, it may be easily carried or transportedfrom city to another citywithout too much inconvenienceA and expense.

It will now be clear that therel is provided by this invention anautomatic tow-bar which accomplishes the objects heretofore set forth.While the invention hasbeen vdescribed in a specific form and whilecertain general terms and special language lhave been used, it is to beunderstood that the embodiment `of' the invention as described issuggestive only and is not to be considered in a limiting sense. It isto be further understood that there may be other forms or adaptations ofthe invention which will suggest l themselves to persons familiar withthe art and those modifications are also considered to be Withinthebroadscope of the invention set forth as no limitations upon it are intendedother than those imposed thereon by the breadth of the .ap-

pended claims.

I claim: 1.r A combinedv towing and steering device for a towedautomobile having a steerable Wheel member' and a king-pin thereon,comprising in combination, a draw-bar member having a first Divot meansthereon connected to the said automobile, a collar member having asecond pivot means thereon mounted on the said draw-bar member,v a guidearm member having a third Divot means thereon and connected to the said,

collar member pivot means,'the said third pivot means being the samedistance from the second pivot means as the said king-pin is from therst pivot means, and a steeringarm member connected to the guide armpivot means and engageable with the said steerable wheel member, thesaid third pivot means being the same distance from the said king-pin asthe second pivot means is from the rst pivot means.

2. 'A combined. towing and steering devicefor a towed automobile havinga steerable Wheel member and a king-pin. thereon, comprising incombination, a draw-bar member having spaced irst and second pivot meansthereon connected to the said towed automobile, and an arm member havinga third pivot means and including two spaced ends connected at one ofits ends to the said second pivot means and at its other end to thesaidwheel member, the said second and third pivot means being the samedistance apart as the first pivot meansy and the said king-pin, and thesaid third pivot means and the saidking-pin being the same distanceapart as the said first and second pivot means. s

3. A combined towing and steering device for a towed automobile having asteerable wheel axle free end and having a king-pin thereon,comprising,a draw-bar member having spaced rst and second pivot meansthereon connected to the said towed automobile, a guide arm memberhavingla third pivot means thereon connected to the said draw-bar membersecond pivot means,

land a steering arm member connected to the said guide arm member pivotmeans and engaging the said wheel axle free end, the said first andsecond pivot means being the same distance apart as the third pivotmeans and the said king-pin and and the said rst pivot means and thesaid kingpin being the same distance apart as the said secondand thirdpivot means. l

4. A combined towing and steering device for a towed .automobile havinga resilient bumper, a yking-pin and steerable wheel axle free endtherethe said guide arm member pivot means and en-v gaging the saidwheel axle free end, the said rst and second pivot means being the samedistance apart as the third pivot means andthe said king-pin and thesaid rst pivot means and the said king-pin being the same distance apartas the said second and third pivot means.

'i HARRY H. RODIN.

